Yes eating salads are a great way to maintain good health and a fantastic body. But only when done right with lots of the right ingredients. Too often folks get confused with what constitutes a good healthy salad and get weighed down with too much of the wrong protein, add non-nutritious greens and drop the ball with dressing galore! So to stay satiated and slim we've given you five things to stay away from to keep you and your salad healthy this summer. Munch On!!!

1) Use Only Iceberg lettuce
Iceberg lettuce has a nice crunch, but almost no nutritional value. Use a variety of darker greens like spinach, leaf lettuce, arugula, dandelion greens, kale, watercress and basil leaves all add flavor and more nutritional value than plain old iceberg lettuce.

2) Use lots of Croutons and Bacon Bits
These extra toppings don't add any nutritional value, but they do add a lot of calories if you pile them on. One half cup of croutons has about 100 calories. One tablespoon of chopped walnuts or flaxseed would make a much better choice for nutritional value.

3) Add Extra Cheese
Cheese is a great source of calcium and protein. Just pay attention to how much cheese you are using. Adding too much cheese can add many extra calories. In fact only 1/4 cup of shredded cheese adds over 100 calories.

4) Pile on the Fried and Processed Meat
Adding slices of cooked chicken breast can transform a healthy salad into a healthy meal. However, adding 3 deep-fried chicken strips to a salad will turn a healthy salad into a health-disaster. Deep fried meats add unhealthy fats and extra calories. Another health-busting idea is to add several slices of processed sandwich meats.

5) Drench Your Salad With Dressing
Most of us like to top our salads with a bit of dressing. That means only a tablespoon or two. More salad dressing adds too many calories and extra fat. A better idea is to forego the salad dressing and squeeze some fresh lemon and lime juice on your salad, or use some salsa.

Spinach Salad Supreme

Makes 4 large salads

Caution: Watch daily intake of vitamin K.

1 package fresh spinach or 1 pound spinach
1 large sweet onion
4-6 sliced large mushrooms
1 can sliced water chestnuts
Artichoke hearts
Alfalfa or mung bean sprouts

Clean and wash spinach. Drain and place in 4 salad bowls. Arrange vegetables attractively. Any vegetable is appropriate, use those you like. Can top with sliced almonds or sunflower seeds.

Kale-Avocado Salad

4-5 leaves of kale (sliced down to the big part of the stem)
1 ripe avocado
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 Tbsp of raw pumpkin seeds
Sea salt to taste
In a salad bowl throw in the kale leaves, lemon juice, and olive oil. Cut up the avocado and add it to the kale/lemon/olive oil mixture. Using your hands, mash the avocado into the kale leaves. Add the pumpkin seeds and stir them in. Then salt to taste and enjoy! It's delicious by itself as a side dish or on a veggie burger sandwich!